Secret
by Xunxin
Summary: AU. As Eiri is about to propose to his girlfriend he runs into a childhood friend, Shuichi.  Renewing their friendship, they get together and grow close, but how will they handle their hidden secrets?
1. Chapter 1

**AN**: Hey everyone, xunxin here. If you've never heard of me feel free to read my other fic called Train Wreck. Anyway I had a sudden idea for a story. Well not much of an idea, just bits and pieces. Let's just see what happens with it all. I'm making it up as I go along, as usual. :P :) BTW, I've been sitting on this first chapter for a while now, like over a year. Let me know what you think.

**Warnings**_**:**_ um, maybe some language. I haven't decided yet.

**Disclaimer**: Nope, don't own. Just the story plot of this fic that I came up with in about 5 seconds. LOL :)

**Music excerpt: **"Send me an Angel" by Reallife

**SECRETS**

**Summary: ** AU. Eiri, an author, has a girlfriend he's been seeing for about a year now. On the day of his anniversary he runs into a childhood friend, Shuichi. They renew their friendship and the sneaking around, staying out late, and lying to others starts soon after. Can their love affair be made public or should it be kept private? How will they handle their hidden secrets?

**Chapter 1: **

It was the afternoon of the first day of summer and the sun was shinning brightly for the first time in a while with a few sparse clouds here and there. Everyone was outside with friends and family watching the birds chirp and sing, playing in the sun and having picnics in the park.

Eiri, a man with golden blonde hair and light golden hazel eyes, sat at the local coffee spot with his editor, Mizuki, a tenacious woman who knew just how to push the author in the right direction.

"So?" Mizuki asked expectantly, holding her hand out.

"So…what?" Eiri asked in return. He sat across from her at a little booth with his arms crossed and a barely noticeable smirk on his face.

"I told you to have three more chapters ready for me by today." Mizuki said impatiently, tapping her foot and drumming her fingers. 'Why must he do this to me every time?' Mizuki thought.

"I don't know what you're talking about. Last I heard I was given another week to finish those said three chapters. I'm an author. That means I don't answer my phone when annoying people call and I avoid mail from idiots at any cost." Eiri said simply.

Anger blooming, Mizuki spat out, "That doesn't mean you should stop listening to any messages they leave or stop opening any mail they send, does it?…Wait a minute…Are you calling me an annoying idiot?"

Eiri just shrugged in reply.

Downing the rest of his coffee, Eiri stood up and grabbed his suit jacket from the back of the chair before she could do any physical damage. "Then try dropping by and telling me in person."

As Eiri began to walk away, Mizuki, fuming by now, yelled out after him, "I would if you'd answer your damn door when I do!"

Eiri continued to walk, chuckling as he went. 'Mizuki was so much fun to annoy. It was too easy.'

"Five days Eiri." He heard her yell from somewhere behind him. Eiri lifted his hand and gave a backward wave.

Shuichi, a pink haired guy with unworldly amethyst eyes walked calmly through the door to the practice room inside NG, the major production studio in Tokyo. Hiro, a fairly simple guy, sat at the table in the center of the room with Fujisaki, a short tempered guy, on the other side.

At the sound of the door opening, they both looked up expectantly and sighed in relief at whom they saw finally coming in. "What the hell took you so long to get here? It's not like we live very far away." Fujisaki asked standing up, the edge of his temper flaring to life. "We all live in the same apartment complex, and last I checked we all left the building at the same time. So tell me how you ended up being two hours late?"

Hiro sat watching the scene unfold. Watching these two fight is the highlight of his day, all he needed was some popcorn and a Pepsi.

"In case you forgot, I arrived here at NG at the same time as you. The guard told me that Seguchi looking for me so I went up to his office. I said I would meet up with you both later and now here I am." Shuichi explained trying to hold onto his irritation. He moved into the room and dropped his bag on the floor beside the table.

"We know that Shuichi, but we just want to know what he could have to talk to you about for two whole hours." Hiro evenly asked.

"So basically you think I spoke to Seguchi for about five minutes and then wandered off for the remaining time, right?" Shuichi said keeping his anger in check. For the past couple of days, these guys have been on his case about every little thing. If he took too long getting dressed in the morning they started to get worried. He was getting tired of it.

Shuichi glanced at the table and seeing the new melody attached to his lyrics, he picked them up and headed into the recording booth.

Hiro and Fujisaki exchanged a knowing look and stood up too. They each took a seat at the console and watched Shuichi place the lyrics and music sheets on the provided stand and grab the earphones off the hook at the side.

"Shuichi we're just trying to make sure-" Hiro began.

"That I don't screw up? That I don't act like an idiot? That I don't do something stupid?" Shuichi yelled into the microphone. "Start the music for _Send me an Angel_."

Eiri walked down the street leaving Mizuki behind to pay for lunch. 'She'll just call up tonight to bitch at me some more. Not that I'll answer the phone.' Eiri thought, feeling amused.

Turning the corner at the end of the street, Eiri spotted his Mercedes parked on the side of the road. Heading over he pulled out his keys and cell phone. Unlocking his car with the 'oh so handy' device on his keychain, Eiri climbed in and pressed the number two on his speed dial as he shut the door.

Listening to the phone on the other end ring endlessly, Eiri drove away from the curb and into traffic. When no one answered and voicemail came on Eiri waited for the beep and gave a quick message. "Hey Aiko, I'll pick you up tomorrow at five. Don't make any plans."

Eiri threw his cell into the passenger seat after hanging up and concentrated on the road. A few blocks down he passed the NG building, a tall building in the center of town owned by an annoying short bastard. And without fail, just like every time he drove passed this place, his cell phone rang. Reaching for it without taking his eyes off the road, Eiri answered in a more than irritated tone. "What the hell do you want this time Tohma?"

"Well it's nice to hear from you again too. How did you know it was me?" Tohma asked with fake curiously.

"Besides the fact that I have caller ID? You always call me whenever I drive past your stupid building. You get a kick out of tracking my every movement. Now what do you want?"

Tohma sat in his office, looking out the window that showed the front of the building. "I just wanted to wish you a happy anniversary. It's been a year now right? Are you still going to ask her?" Tohma asked trying to sound earnest.

"Thanks. And yes I am still asking her, so stop trying to be sincere. I know you don't like her." Eiri said as a headache slowly made its way to his temple.

"I have my reasons for that. I just wish you'd listen to me for a change. After all the trouble she has caused in your life-" Tohma started to say.

"Don't start Tohma." Eiri said cutting him off. "I have to go."

"Eiri-" Tohma got out before Eiri snapped his cell shut and threw it into the backseat, briefly glancing in the rearview mirror at NG in the distance.

But don't give up  
>don't give up<br>you can be lucky in love.  
>It gets in your eyes<br>it's making you cry  
>don't know what to do<br>don't know what to do  
>looking for love<br>calling heaven above,

Send me an angel

The music continued for another few seconds before Shuichi shook his head and took off the head phones. "I need five, my throat is sore." Shuichi said as he strode to the door of the sound booth.

Shuichi walked into the room where the others still sat at the console and went over to the table to grab his water off the top of it. Hiro took the opportunity to stand up from where he sat in front of the sound proof glass and walk quietly over to Shuichi.

"Listen Shuichi, we're sorry about before. We shouldn't have questioned you so intensely like that." Hiro said, his hand resting on Shuichi's shoulder briefly.

Shuichi closed the cap on his water bottle and turned to glance at Hiro and Fujisaki. He searched their faces briefly wondering if, maybe, they actually meant it this time. With a shrug of his shoulders Shuichi let his annoyance go and a small smile started to grace his face. "Thanks guys. Just stop interrogating me all the time okay?" Shuichi said simply and not looking at either of them, he walked back over towards the door to the sound booth.

Hiro exchanged a quick look with Fujisaki and before Shuichi closed the door to the booth Fujisaki asked suspiciously, "Why does your throat hurt? It was fine yesterday."

Shuichi turned shocked eyes to Fujisaki. He couldn't believe, after he just got done apologizing to him, that he would ask a question like that. No, actually, he's not surprised, they've done it before.

Shuichi closed his outraged eyes and took a deep breath. Shaking his head, he took a few steps into the booth and with his hand on the door handle, slammed the door shut behind him without answering.

Shuichi stomped over to the music stand and placed the earphones over his ears, crossing his arms as he waited for the music to start and cue him in. Glaring at them on the other side of the glass.

"Come on Shuichi." Hiro pleaded through the speakers in the booth. "Come out here so we can talk."

After a minute of silence and thinking it over Shuichi yanked off his earphones and slammed his way out of the sound booth. Bringing all his pent up anger and irritation at them to the surface Shuichi yelled, "What the hell is your problem lately?"

"We're just concerned about you." Hiro said quietly with his hands out in front of him as if pleading Shuichi to calm down.

"Well don't be. I'm perfectly fine." Shuichi yelled, glaring at Hiro and Fujisaki as he headed to the table in the center of the room. As the two watched, Shuichi grabbed a hold of his bag and draped it over his shoulder.

Walking to the door of the room, Shuichi stopped for a few seconds at the sound of Fujisaki's voice. "Shuichi we just want to make sure nothing happens to you again."

Quietly, Shuichi answered tightly, "I'm fine" and walked out the door letting it fall softly shut behind him.

Eiri made his way to the jewelry store just on the edge of the city and parking in the lot, got out and walked over. The store sat between a tux rental store on the left and a dog spa on the right. Once inside, the owner, recognizing him immediately, gave a short nod and walked into the back room. Coming back to the front he approached Eiri with a small black box and held it out to him.

Eiri took the box and slowly opened it to reveal a small gold band with a beautiful garnet stone encrusted in the center. He lifted the band carefully in one hand and tilted it towards the light. Inside the band was the word "forever".

Suddenly an uneasy feeling overcame him but he quickly squashed that feeling back into dust, ignoring the nagging in the back of his mind. 'Stupid Tohma' Eiri thought. He owed a lot to Aiko and her family which meant he was going to do what was expected of him.

With the transaction complete, Eiri left the jewelry store with the ring inside its box safely tucked into his jacket. Once the warm air hit him, Eiri felt the tension lift from his shoulders. His next stop had to be the pastry store a couple of blocks down. 'Maybe I should have gone there first.' Eiri thought to himself. The pastry store was a block and a half from NG, and Tohma. Racking his hands through his hair, Eiri heaved a sigh and made his way back to his Mercedes.

Shuichi burst through the doors of the building and turned right, heading down the sidewalk, thoughts racing through his mind. The 'incident' had happened about a month ago, maybe more. Shuichi thought he was over it but apparently Hiro and Fujisaki did not.

It started out simple with them. Last week he sneezed and they were concerned that maybe he had caught a cold. That kind of worry Shuichi could handle.

But then the next night, all three of them went to this semi-fancy restaurant for dinner to celebrate their new single going straight to platinum. Shuichi had gotten up to use the bathroom. Once in there he noticed that he had spilled some sauce on his shirt and took extra time to wipe it off. No big deal, right? Well, Hiro had burst into the bathroom with a look of terrified concern, yelling his name.

That was so embarrassing. All eyes in the restaurant were on him as Hiro dragged him back to the table. 'But at least then they were acting concerned, now it seems more like they keep accusing me' Shuichi thought.

Stopping to wait for the light to cross the street, Shuichi looked up at the sky. The sun was still shinning brightly but the clouds in the sky were getting larger and a light breeze blew through the sky for the first time today. It was looking like a storm might roll through anytime now.

Taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly, Shuichi watched the light change to red and began to cross. Reaching the other side of the road, Shuichi stepped up and looked directly into the eyes of the one person he did not expect to see.

Eiri drove to the intersection and stopped at the red light, letting his mind drift. Aiko had lived across the street from him when he was going to college. Since she was in some of his classes they started to have study sessions and quickly grew close. When his financial aid ran dry it was Aiko who asked her 'wealthy' father for his help. Next thing Eiri knew his entire college tuition was paid in full. That's when it all started.

A flash of pink crossed Eiri's vision and brought him back to the present. Eiri watched as a guy with pink hair, 'who dyes their hair that color?' Eiri thought briefly, cross the street in front of his car appearing lost in thought. 'Why does he look familiar?' recognition lingering just out of Eiri's reach.

When the guy reached the other side of the street and looked up he appeared to freeze in place as he ran into another man.

A horn beeped behind Eiri making him look to see that the light had changed. Glancing briefly at the sidewalk to the two men, Eiri drove thru the intersection and quickly pulled to the curb to park in front of the pastry shop.

"I'm sure we have a lot to talk about." Eiri heard the taller of the men say as he climbed out. Eiri glanced back, still trying to place the pink haired kid and getting a flash of memory from when he was little, somewhere between nine and ten years old. He was walking to the park by the river near his home and saw a small kid with pink hair, maybe around five or six, already there playing in the sand alone.

"Sorry but I'm in a hurry, I'm uh, late for a meeting." Eiri heard the pink kid say nervously, a look of pure fear crossing his face for a split second.

'He's still not a very convincing liar' Eiri thought, smiling as he finally placed the pink kid. He watched him try to step around the other guy while that other guy managed to grab his arm and yank the kid back.

'Asshole' Eiri thought viciously, walking toward them.

"Um, hey." Shuichi said quietly, his hands automatically starting to shake as a cold sweat began to make its way down his back. Shuichi lowered his head and tried to side step around the guy. 'Walk away…quickly' Shuichi thought. But the guy stepped in front of Shuichi blocking his path. Shuichi took a step back and looked up, squinting against the glaring sun right before it slipped behind a cloud.

"That's all I get? Come on Shu, why don't we go somewhere and catch up? I'm sure we have a lot to talk about." The guy said sounding friendly enough but Shuichi could hear the faint line of anger in his tone.

"Sorry but I'm in a hurry, I'm uh, late for a meeting." Shuichi lied, hoping he sounded convincing. 'It's okay…don't panic.' Shuichi thought as he tried to side step around the guy again. Shuichi almost made it when he grabbed Shuichi's arm and pulled him back.

"I don't think so." The guy said quietly, tightening his hold on Shuichi's arm.

Shuichi winced as the grip on his arm shot pain through to his shoulder. "Ouch…bastard" Shuichi ground out between his teeth, narrowing his eyes in anger at the man.

"Hey," Eiri called as he continued to walk over, angry at the guy for daring to lay a hand on the pink kid. 'What's his name again?' Eiri quickly thought.

Shuichi turned his head to see the guy walking over to them. He was tall with this amazing golden blond hair. 'He seems familiar' Shuichi thought as the pain in his arm lessened.

The other man suddenly removed his hand from Shuichi's arm in shock as Eiri came between them. "Shuichi, you ready?" Eiri asked as he looked directly into Shuichi's eyes and gave him a smug smirk.

The smirk that followed Shuichi's name gave him away and recognition and surprise passed over Shuichi's face. "Eiri?" Shuichi asked quietly in disbelief.

"I thought we had an appointment." Eiri said to Shuichi, that same smirk still shaping Eiri's lips and causing Shuichi to smile in return. With his back still to the other man, Eiri put his arm around Shuichi's shoulders to steer him away, toward the pastry shop.

"Um…yeah. Sorry." Shuichi responded, taking the way out gratefully.

Shuichi looked over his shoulder briefly as Eiri pulled him away. The other man had gotten over his shock and now stood there fuming in temper, watching them go.

AN:: Hey guys, hope you liked it. I haven't written anything in a LONG time so I hope everyone likes this new story. Let me know what you did or did not like, pls?


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: **Xunxin here. Hope everyone liked the first chapter of my new story. Sorry about the page breaks disappearing. I'll try something new and hope that they stay this time. Here's the next installment. Sorry for the wait, I had writers block already. Please let me know what you think!

**PS: **Since this is an AU world, their personalities will be a little different then the normal, but I'll keep them within the normal range. I never thought about if the whole "Kitazawa" thing happened here but I'll say not and I'll try my hardest to get new chapters out ASAP for your continued enjoyment but know that I do have a life.

**DISCLAIMER! DISCLAIMER! **'nough said.

**Warnings**: still not sure

**SECRET **

Chapter 2:

As Shuichi walked through the doors of the pastry shop he took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, letting go of all his tension, stress, anger and fear. Seeing Ryo again was terrifying, he wasn't sure what to do or say but seeing Eiri again was amazing. Who would have thought that the older punk kid from his childhood would show up here in Tokyo?

"Are you okay?" Eiri asked from behind him.

Shuichi let a huge smile take over his face and turned to look at Eiri. "I'm fine, but what are you doing here? The last time I saw you, your dad was trying to get you to dye your hair black. You were causing him trouble in return, as usual." Shuichi laughed. "He wanted you to look proper for when the rest of the family arrived."

"I'm pretty sure that I flooded the shrine because of that." Eiri said with an evil smile, remembering. "Took him a month to dry it out."

Shuichi laughed and took a seat at a corner table. Eiri took a seat across from him as someone from behind the counter quickly came over to them carrying a small box.

"Yuki-san!" The pastry clerk announced excitedly. "I have your order, just as you requested sir."

"What did you order?" Shuichi asked curiously.

"Nothing special" Eiri said, shrugging it off.

"It's very special. Yuki-san is getting married!" The waiter said excitedly, clapping his hands and bouncing on the balls of his feet.

"Married?" Shuichi questioned, not sure he heard right. When they were younger, he remembers Eiri saying that he would probably never get married. 'Except…He did say…' Shuichi thought as a memory floated to the surface of his mind.

"Well he hasn't asked his girlfriend yet, but I'm sure she'll say yes Yuki-san!" The waiter said, still sounding excited. He failed to notice the glare that Eiri shot his way, however.

"Girlfriend?" Shuichi asked, looking from the waiter to Eiri. Utter surprise on his face and in his voice. He was trying to squash the small ball of hurt that was forming in his gut.

"Thank you Matsukoshi, but if you don't mind…" Eiri gritted out through his teeth at the waiter, giving him the look of death.

"Oh! I'm very sorry! Please excuse me!" The clerk said bowing repeatedly realizing his error and quickly walked away.

"Shuichi…look-" Eiri began wincing, but was cut off at the sudden sound of Shuichi's cell phone ringing.

Shuichi grabbed at his bag desperate for the distraction and dug through it until he found his cell. "Hello?"

"Shuichi where are you?" Hiro asked from the other end sounding worried.

"I'm fine. I really am fine. I'll be back in a few minutes okay? So leave me alone right now." Shuichi said tightly into the phone, anger replacing the hurt he previously felt. He hung up before Hiro had any chance to respond. Shuichi then threw his phone back into his bag and got up from the table. "Sorry Eiri, but I have to go back to work. Thanks so much for your help before." Shuichi hurriedly said, grabbing his stuff to leave.

"Hey, Shuichi…" Eiri called out as Shuichi practically ran out the door. "Damnit." Eiri muttered to himself as he got up to follow Shuichi out. Outside the door to the pastry shop Eiri saw Shuichi making his way down the street, "Shuichi!" Eiri called again.

"You can find me at NG Productions." Shuichi yelled back as he continued down the road.

"Since when do you work at a recording studio?" Eiri called in return, knowing perfectly well why he worked there.

"You should try listening to music once in a while." Shuichi yelled back, chuckling. Eiri almost never listened to music when they were little, only because Tohma was so into it, it drove Eiri nuts. 'Or maybe that was my fault' Shuichi thought laughing to himself.

"Not as long as that shark is in charge. Plus your lyrics probably still suck." Eiri said, more to himself.

"Hey! Tohma's not so bad and my lyrics don't suck." Shuichi said anticipating Eiri's response, and turned to continue running down the street toward NG.

Eiri chuckled to himself, "idiot." and turned to walk back into the pastry shop.

The clerk, Matsukoshi, quickly walked over as Eiri came back in, and started apologizing again at his bluntness. "I'm so sorry Yuki-san. I didn't realize you weren't ready to announce it. Your friend seemed very surprised and upset at the news."

"Of course he's upset." Eiri said aloud annoyed at the clerk and worried about Shuichi. 'Because I broke a promise.' Eiri finished the thought silently.

Pagebreak HELLO HIHIHI HELLO pagebreak

Eiri was about ten when he first met Shuichi. He had a fight with his father and ran out before he could be locked in his room for the night. Something his father loved to do in order to teach him some discipline.

When he got to the river by his house, Eiri saw a younger kid sitting there crying. Eiri guessed he must be the one who recently moved into the house a few blocks from his family shrine because no one else in this neighborhood would dare walk around with pink hair. Guess he would have to tell this new kid that he sitting his spot. "Hey." Eiri called out as he got closer.

The kid seemed to jump as the sound of Eiri's voice and looked up with a tear soaked face looking scared. "I'm sorry, I'll leave." He said in a small voice, getting ready to run.

Feeling that twinge of conscience Eiri preferred to ignore even at that age, he bit back his prepared remark. That was when he noticed the kids' scrapped knee and bruised cheek. "Are you okay?" Eiri questioned with concern. 'Why do I care again?' Eiri thought.

The kid looked down at the ground and wiped the tears that were running down his face. "I'm fine. I ran into some other kids and fell. They were making fun of me so I ran away from them but I got lost on my way home." He said still scared. "Is this your spot? I'm sorry." He apologized again.

"You mean Taki and his gang? I run into them all the time. They don't like me much either." Eiri said nonchalantly.

"Really? What do you do?" Shuichi questioned, the fear easing and being replaced by intrigue at this older kid.

"I kick their ass before they can try to kick mine. You're the new kid that moved into that old house. What's your name?" Eiri said before he thought, 'He's kind of cute for a kid.'

"Shuichi. You're not going to make fun of me are you?" Shuichi asked quietly.

Eiri kneeled down and wiped the falling tear from Shuichi's cheek. "No. And I won't let them either."

.nnnnn

Eiri walked to his car with his pastry box in hand. As he opened the car door his cell rang. Eiri quickly set down the box in the seat, pulled out his phone and answered it distractedly. "Yeah?"

"Eiri? I got your message. What's going on?" Aiko said from the other end.

"Huh?" Eiri responded before he could really think. His mind was still on Shuichi at the moment.

"Tomorrow? At five?" Aiko reminded.

"Oh! Um, I'll pick you up for dinner and tell you then. I got to go, bye." Eiri said, quickly getting off the phone. For some reason this feeling of regret was beginning to bubble. Eiri ignored it telling himself he doing the right thing and got into the car to head home.

.nnnnn

Ryo sat in his car across from NG waiting for Shuichi to walk out the doors. He's been sitting there since he followed Shuichi back to NG after he ran out of the pastry shop from talking to that blonde haired guy.

"He looked like that author." Ryo mumbled. "If so, he might try to cause some trouble."

AN: I know, it sucks. Sorry that's all I got right now. I already hit a writer's block. I'll figure it out by the next chapter, I promise. Stay tuned pls .


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